DEBUNKED: ‘Iranian bases in Syria’

DAMASCUS – According to Syrian journalist and collaborator of Prensa Latina in Damascus, Fady Marouf, “the targets attacked by Israel this morning were all Syrian defense units. Iran had nothing to do with it.”

In the early hours on April 10, the Israeli “Defense” Forces for five hours claimed that they attacked Iran’s positions in Syria and several Syrian defense units. According to Damascus, the forces attacked by Israel are 100% Syrian.

“It was five hours of intense fighting between Syria and Israel and it was the Israelis who started this as they have continually done during the seven years of war in Syria,” Marouf told Sputnik World .

Since 2011, the Israeli Army has attacked Syria more than 15 times. The targets affected were mainly military positions, scientific research centers and other strategic locations.

This time, Israel says it carried out attacks after Syrian-led Iranian forces launched a missile strike against the Zionist occupied Golan Heights in the early morning hours of Thursday.

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“We have Iranian advisers who help the Syrian army in its fight against terrorist groups, so all the dead [in this attack] are Syrian soldiers, as are the injured “, assured the journalist.

According to Marouf, Syria has not harassed Israel since the Arab-Israeli War of 1973. Since then, Israelis have been attacking Syria because they do not want a neighbor with a powerful army. “Israel is afraid of that,” he said.

At the same time, the reporter told Sputnik that “at dawn on the day of the attack the Syrian residents in Damascus left their balconies and witnessed how the anti-aircraft defense destroyed the Israeli missiles while the Israelis were terrified in safe houses.”

“Syria is a country that wants peace, but nowadays, after seven years of war, the Syrian people and army are stronger. We are not willing to take a step back,” he concluded.

Relations between Tel Aviv and Tehran are tense. Israel regards Iranian activities in Syria as a threat to its national security. Israel has repeatedly stated that Iran would be building a permanent military base south of Damascus.

Paul Antonopoulos is a Research Fellow at the Center for Syncretic Studies. He has an MA in International Relations and is interested in Great Power Rivalry as well as the International Relations and Political Economy of the Middle East and Latin America.